DES MOINES, Iowa — Due to staffing shortages and pandemic-related issues more flights are getting canceled. This leads to more flights being overbooked as the passengers are then filtered to later flights.
Airlines have been offering cash vouchers to people who volunteer to take a later flight, but when they can’t find any takers they will bump people off the flight.
When this happens there are a few things the airlines consider. One is that they tend to bump people who are in the cheapest economy seats first meaning if you splurge on a first or business class ticket you will be safe from getting moved to another flight.
Shawn Miller, a Travel Agent with S David Travel, has seen more clients running into issues with overbooked flights.
Miller has advice for how people can further avoid getting bumped from a flight. “Typically if you’re a frequent flier with them, even if you open the account just for this particular flight, there’s probably a less chance you’re going to get bumped than someone who’s not a frequent flyer,” Miller said.
Miller also said that checking in ahead of time and checking a bag helps prevent passengers from getting chosen to move flights. This is because the airline doesn’t want to deal with tracking down and moving a passenger’s checked bag to another flight.
The time people choose to fly in and out of their destinations is important as well. Travel on the busiest days like weekends is when passengers have a higher chance of running into overbooking-related issues.